Oh, Madria Rhea, Jana of Steadfastness, Temperance and Self Restraint, be with us.

Dear Devotees,

Due to a crashed computer, I have not been able to help write articles over the last few months. I am now writing them in email form and Madrina Sophia, who will be ordained as a priestess on the Holy Feast of Eastre, has kindly offered to post them for me. Thank you, Madrina.

As Janites, we are very focused on both the Trinity and the sacredness of the Seasons of the Déanic Wheel of the Year. And so we have been discussing ways to implement living this focus more fully. As such, we have devised what we call Seasonal Living.

This is now Moura , which is not only the Season and the Month whereby we are mindful of the Descent of Holy Daughter, Kore Sophia, but it is also the Time and the Season of the Great Mother and the Janae of the Threefold Heaven, i. e., Madrias Candra, Theia and Rhea. We celebrate Their feast day on Med-Moura, 14 Moura/March 4.

There are many ways we can spiritually live and observe the Seasons. And since this is Moura, we will start with this Season.

Wear The Fora

The Fora [1] is the Sacred Symbol for the Season of Moura. It is also the Symbol of the Great Mother, Whom we call the Veiled Fora of Faith. For this reason, I wear the Fora during Moura. Unfortunately, certain white supremacist groups have adopted versions of the Fora as a symbol of their hate. Due to this, the Celtic knot cross or Witches cross may be used as a Fora.

I also place a picture/icon of the Great Mother on my altar. I use Nicholas Roerich’s veiled Mother of the World. There are many other suitable images for the Great Mother, Who is Dea Matrona. Dea Matrona means Great Mother Goddess.

Mother Of The World by Nicholas Roerich 1924Charcoal of the above by OxanaThe Great Mother, a collage copyright of Madrina Sophia. Seek Permission and share with all due crediting. For private use only.

Our Great Mother is Grandmother. She Who loves us unconditionally. She Who is Ancient Wisdom.

When we speak of the Darkness associated with the Great Mother, it merely signifies Mystery and That which is Hidden. Shimmering, Velvet Darkness, Mystery, That Which is Hidden. Hence the Great Mother is veiled.

Liturgy

We use the preface of the Great Mother for the Rite of Sacrifice and for the Liturgy which is, O Dea Matrona, Dark Moon of Origin, shelter us beneath Your Veil of Mystery.

The liturgy, during Moura, for clergy, shall be served on Foradi or Fora Day, (Saturday), if possible, which is the day of Madria Rhea, the Jana Who represents the Great Mother. As such, we refer to Madria Rhea as the ̔ Face̕ of the Great Mother. The Symbol for this day is the Fora, of course. Madrinas and Priestesses will accent their white dresses/robes with accessories in the liturgical colour of Violet.

The Rite of Sacrifice

The Rite of Sacrifice may be served on the Dark Moon. ( It may also be served on the Full Moon if desired.) The Full Moon for Moura is the Veiled Moon, which, this year, falls on 11 Moura/March 2.

The candles on the altar (which should be object blessed) and the veil/hat that we wear during formal prayer and ritual should be either black or indigo [2]. (Keep in mind, the liturgical colors are the colors of the robes of the Janae. These are colors that are symbolic of Who They Are in Their Spiritual Essence.) The Moura altar cloth is the elemental seasonal color of violet. This can be a doily, hankey/handkerchief, table cloth. (Which should be object blessed). There are no flowers on the altar during Moura with the exception of the Feast of the Trinitarian Janae on Med-Moura.

Prayer/Chants/ Hymn

During prayer, we concentrate on the psalms, litanies and prayers to the Great Mother. And there will be more of those to come during this holy month. We can also pray to Her in our own words and spend time in contemplation of Her and communion with Her.

The Great Mother, Dea Matrona. We call Her Mysteria because She is Mystery and has no Name on Earth. She is the Source of Spirit, the Origin of Spirit, the One Spirit. From Her, all things come.

O, Dea, Fora of Faith,
we thank You, we bless You and we adore You.
For through Your everlasting life, we are infused with Your luminous Graces
and are protected by the Veiled Stillness at the Centre of All. O, Great Mother,
You are the steadfast Fora of our return to Spirit.
O, Dea, Fora of Faith, be with us.

[9] Immah (Mother) Barbelo
Holy Barbelo,
Eternal mystery,
Mother supreme,
From your womb comes forth all light,
And in your darkness all find peace,
Only you, Great One,
Are the foundation of all things,
Unbreakable. Irrevocable. Immovable.
Your faces are many and yet your heart is One,
That which pulses through the multiverse,
Through all heavens and hells and spiritual planes.
There is nothing beyond You and nothing before You.
O Imma Regina. Triple Powered. Triple Pure.
May all come to know that they have never been separate from You,
May those bound up in sorrow and suffering break through this illusion.
For we have been held in your arms since the beginning,
And to your embrace shall all come to sleep.
Blessed art thou, Goddess, Our Lady,
So be it.

Seasonal Rosary

For the Five Mystery Rosary, the Hail, Dea prayer for each of the beads of the Five Septads is:

Hail, Sophia, (Kore or Kore Sophia), Fountain of Grace, Glory be to Thee. Blessed art Thou, O, Divine Queen of Heaven and Blessed art Thou, O, Gentle Dove of Peace. This is the Janite Mantra to the Holy Daughter during the Sacred Season of Spring.

The Scriptures upon which we focus during Moura are the Mythos of the Divine Maid, chapters III through V and chapter VI through verse six. Also, The Secret of the World; The Three Loves; The Teachings of the Daughter / Thoughts of The Mind; The Veil of Matter; The Way of Simplicity; The Temple of the Heart and The Heart of Water with the exception of verses 32- 39, which are not relevant for Janites.

November 2017 Eastminster Critical Edition of The Filianic Scriptures known as ECE or The Clear Recital, edition 3. Free download as a PDF file, MOBI for Kindle, and EPUB for iOS and Android phones. http://apronstrings.racemochridhe.com/ece/

It is important to keep in mind that the tale of the Passion of the Holy Daughter in the Mythos of the Divine Maid is not to be taken literally. It is simply a metaphor for the suffering She undertook as She Descended down through the realms.

Seasonal Virtues

During Moura, we especially concentrate on the virtues of Madria Rhea, Who, as stated above, is the Jana ̔ Face̕ of the Great Mother. These virtues, Steadfastness, Temperance and Self-Restraint, are especially appropriate for the somber, reflective, and spiritually contemplative Season of Moura. Steadfastness in being loyal to our Soul Path; Temperance in not harming our body and Self-restraint from causing harm to others either through action or word.

Meditation on the esoteric meaning of the Fora; decorating with the symbolic birds of Madria Rhea which are the peacock and the raven and using Her incense and oils along with eating a simpler diet are all ways of observing the Season. Living more simply and concentrating on the spiritual more than on the material are also part of Living Seasonally during Moura.

Indigo is the color of the Third Eye chakra, ruled over by Madria Rhea. The Third Eye chakra is the energy vortex of intuition, wisdom and spiritual insight. Both the Crown and Third Eye chakras are relevant areas of study during the Season of Moura. If interested, do a search about Third Eye meditation or opening the Third Eye.

Purple Auras and Spiritual Balance. If an advisor tells you that your aura is purple at the moment, this is a good thing. A purple aura (also known as violet or indigo) means that you are in a good space spiritually and that you are close to experiencing a state of equilibrium and open awareness. (Beth Asaff).

We do not believe in harsh aesthetic practices, strict fasting (except for Tenebrae) or severe methods of self-denial during Moura. For Janites, it is a time of self-reflection and a time of deep spiritual practices. In our opinion, these have nothing to do with a Goddess religion. The idea of a sacrificial Lent stems from Babylonia and from my own research, it originated as a time of 40 days of weeping for Tamuz in honor of his death and before his resurrection. Later, Christianity would adopt the idea from the time of Jesus fasting in the desert.

Finally, pay attention to the physicality of this Sacred Season. Note the changing of the seasons in your area. The oncoming of Spring, the melting of the ice and snows, the first bloom of the flower, the budding of the leaves.

Get out in Nature. Watch the moon. Gaze at the stars. Look for the birds returning from the long Winter as the secular month of February ends and the month of March begins. Praise Dea as the Lady of All Nature. Thank the spirits of each Element and give glory to the Great Mother as the Absolute Source of the All.

And let us rest in the Silence of the Great Mother and dwell in Her Stillness. And let that Silence and Stillness reflect itself in our daily lives; in our words, our thoughts and in how we treat others and in how we speak about others. May we be mindful of the Virtues of Madria Rhea. And let us ask Madria Rhea to instil Her Virtues within us, that we may practice them with Wisdom. With Sophia Whose Name means Wisdom.

O, Madria Rhea, Jana of Steadfastness, Temperance and Self-restraint, be with us. May the Pure Stream of Your Virtues flow within me, in this world and in all the worlds to come.

Madria Rhea is the Face/Power/Violet Ray/Spirit/Form of Dea Matrona, the Great Mother.

~~~

First of all, I have updated the Janati correspondence page to include which Persons of the Trinity Each represents and the chakras over which they rule. Please don’t worry about any updates. I still have to update a few other things, including some minor issues with the latest edition of the liturgy, the Mysteries of the rosary and the calendar, add terms to the glossary, etc. Once all the prayers, rites, the liturgy, calendar etc., are published in the prayer book, they will be set in stone, so to speak and there will be no more editing.

This article speaks about the importance of the correspondences of the Season, the Great Mother and the meaning of the time of Moura. Each correspondence is filled with deep, symbolic meaning.

Tomorrow night is the full Spirit Moon, which is appropriate because this Season is all about Spirit.

The symbol of this month, the Fora, represents the Element of Spirit, Spirit being the Fifth Element of the Sacred Season of Moura.

Let us remember that when we trace the Fora over ourselves in blessing, we hold the thumb and first two fingers of the right hand together, symbolizing the Trinity, then we begin by touching the forehead and then the heart chakra and say, In the Name of the Mother. This line or ray symbolizes the Celestial Mother. Next we touch the right shoulder and then the left shoulder and say, and of the Daughter. This line or ray symbolizes the Holy Daughter. Next we trace a small circle in the air directly above our heart chakra while saying, and of the Great Mother. This symbolizes the Great Mother. Finally, we end by placing our hand on our heart chakra and say: Blessed is She.

The Seasonal color of Moura is Purple, which is the Elemental color of Spirit in the Janite Tradition. Purple is also the color of the crown chakra, the spiritual chakra. The crown chakra is our connection to the Divine and some believe that upon death, we exit our bodies through our crown chakra.

Interestingly enough, in life between lives and reincarnational studies, the energy/light of those guides and beings who have attained an high evolution of spirituality is violet/purple. Here on Earth, I think it is the aura than tends towards purple for highly spiritual people.

Purple Auras and Spiritual Balance. If an advisor tells you that your aura is purple at the moment, this is a good thing. A purple aura (also known as violet or indigo) means that you are in a good space spiritually, and that you are close to experiencing a state of equilibrium and open awareness. (Beth Asaff).

When we think about it, this makes sense. Violet/Purple is at the furthest end of the light spectrum and so, it may symbolize the highest form of spiritual enlightenment or awake-fullness which means, in essence, Gnosis.

Chakras are our energy system. Do a search on the Crown Chakra is the Spiritual Chakra and you might find some articles of deep interest. Of course, where Madria Candra is the Violet Ray of Dea, the Crown Chakra would come under Her ruler-ship. 1)

While Purple is the Elemental color of Moura, Indigo is one of the liturgical colors of the Season. (Keep in mind, the liturgical colors are the colors of the robes of the Janati . These are colors that are symbolic of Who They Are in Their Spiritual Essence. The Seasonal colors are the colors of the Five Elements.)

Indigo is the color of the Third Eye chakra, ruled over by Madria Rhea. The Third Eye chakra is the energy vortex of intuition, wisdom and spiritual insight. Both the Crown and Third Eye chakras are relevant areas of study during the Season of Moura. If interested, do a search about Third Eye meditation or opening the Third Eye.

Moura means dark or darkness. This Season is two-fold. On the one hand, we are mindful of the sacrificial Descent of the Holy Daughter down through the Seven Realms. On the day of Moura, also known in the Greater Faith as Hiatus, 28 Moura/March 19, we veil and observe the Day of the Divine Shattering. So, Moura has a triple meaning in the Janite Tradition: it is the Fifth Season, it is the Month of the Fifth Season and it is the Day of Hiatus. Each of these three are named, Moura.

Moura is also the time of the Great Mother, Dea Matrona. We call Her Mysteria because She is Mystery and has no Name on Earth. She is the Source of Spirit, the Origin of Spirit, the One Spirit. From Her all things come. From Her all things have consciousness. Moura is the time of the Darkness, the Darkest Hour before the Bright Aurora-Dawn of Columbina.

The Darkest Hour before the Dawn is the Time of the Great Mother, but this Darkness is not evil. It has hidden Light. Always. Forever. Eternally. When those who have had Near Death Experiences speak of the Mother Light, they always describe It as a shimmering velvet Dark Light. I find this to be entrancing and enthralling.

When we speak of the Darkness associated with the Great Mother, it merely signifies Mystery and That which is Hidden. She is the Ground of All Being, whereas the Celestial Mother is the Garden of All Being. Shimmering, Velvet Darkness, Mystery, That Which is Hidden are all intensely Feminine. Intuitively, as females, we understand why this is so.

Our Great Mother is Grandmother. She Who loves us unconditionally. She Who is Ancient Wisdom. When we look up at the Spirit Moon, tomorrow night, let us think of the Great Mother and of Spirit and of the Light beyond the darkness and be encompassed in this Love. She is our Origin. She cares so much for us, She reaches out to us as Mother, and when that Light became too bright for us in this material realm, She became for us the Daughter. What greater love and care for Her creatures can this be?

Moura for us, is not a time of self-sacrifice or austere practices. The idea of a sacrificial Lent stems from Babylonia and from my own research, it originated as a time of 40 days of weeping for Tamuz in honor of his death and before his resurrection. Later, Christianity would adopt the idea from the time of Jesus fasting in the desert.

For Janites, it is a time of self-reflection, a time of deep spiritual practices, not austerities. It is a time of meditation on scripture and of the contemplation of the Great Mother and the Trinitarian Janati.

Moura is a most fitting time to concentrate on the Virtues of Madria Rhea: Steadfastness, Temperance and Self-restraint. Steadfastness in being loyal to our Soul Path; Temperance in not harming our body and Self-restraint from causing harm to others either through action or word. Moura is a somber time, but one that is the heralding of the Bright Dawn to come.

The Great Mother is veiled and so we ritually veil, if not during the entire month of Moura in Her honor, then, at least on the day of Moura/Hiatus in honor of the Holy Daughter. And let’s not forget that in the Janite and Lucienne Tradition, veiling may be symbolized by a rose in the hair or a wide head band in addition to a scarf or chapel veil, veil, head-wrap or hat. Garlands of Grace has an awesome variety! https://garlandsofgrace.com/.

So, tomorrow for the Spirit Moon, feel free to research an extra ritual or poem that you can include in your Rite of Sacrifice or Liturgy in honor of the Great Mother.

Though it is the Full Moon, please use the Preface of the Great Mother/Dark Moon in ritual.

~

Let us bless the Empress of Heaven,

Blessed is She.

Let us thank the Seven Janati of Power.

Thanks be to the Seven Janati.

~

ArchMadria Candra Sophia

A nice article for beginners: http://www.zenlama.com/the-7-chakras-a-beginners-guide-to-your-energy-system/